


Growing Your Wings (Is a Sign of Love)

by AcesOfSpade



Category: X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Charles is a Teacher's Aid, Erik is a Substitute Teacher, Fluff, Multi, Soulmates - Wings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-08
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-04-08 07:16:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4295562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcesOfSpade/pseuds/AcesOfSpade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where you grow a set of wings when you meet your soulmate, 27-year-old Charles Xavier feels inadequate in comparison to everyone else, not having wings of his own. That is, until he meets Erik Lehnsherr at work. Charles' usual teacher he worked with, Mrs. Munroe, was out sick, placing Erik in Charles' classroom by happenstance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting You Was Awkward

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know. There, I said it. I have no damn idea where this came from. I just started typing and words appeared on the page. I hope you enjoy it.

To gain your wings is to have found your soulmate. That was what everyone was taught from a very young age. Your soulmate might be romantic, sexual, platonic, or a combination of all three. You just knew when you met them which they were.

 

Wings varied from person to person. Some, depending on the intensity of the bond, had larger wingspans than other, sometimes brighter colours, or even multiple colours. The only set of wings that would ever be the same as yours were your soulmates. Even those with multiple soulmates had the same wings.

 

To get your wings was a sacred thing. Your wings symbolized eternal love and care, whether from a lover or a friend. Wings were held in high regard, to the point where those without wings were criticized.

 

Charles Xavier was one of those people. At 27, he still had no wings, even though his step-brother Cain and his sister Raven had theirs. Cain had found his soulmate in his best friend of many years. They were platonic, and their wings were cherry red. Raven’s soulmate was a boy named Azazel. They were only 21, but they already had a son named Kurt. Charles felt inferior to his siblings, not having his wings yet. He felt like he wasn’t a proper member of society. Maybe he was defective, and didn’t have a soulmate.

 

As a mutant, Charles already had enough harassment to deal with, let alone the harassment of not having a soulmate. He tried to ignore it, block everyone out, but some of the voices were much too harsh, like his step-father Kurt, Cain’s father.

 

Working as a teacher’s aid in a high school wasn’t the most ideal of jobs, but Charles wanted to be a proper teacher, so here he was. He working in a grade nine English class, alongside a lovely teacher named Ororo Munroe. Ororo was a few years younger than he, and a mutant as well. While mutants were widely accepted and allowed to have normal jobs, some places still rejected you for being one. Luckily, Bayville High wasn’t one of them.

 

In Ororo’s class, most of the students would make fun of Charles, a grown man, for not having a soulmate. Even Ororo had a beautiful set of jet black and snow white wings. Her husband had an odd name, T’Challa, but he assumed it was an African name, like Ororo.

 

Dealing with the students was one thing, but the staff was another. Logan Howlett, the gym teacher, refused to call him anything but ‘Chuck’, and it got on Charles’ nerves, but he never brought it up, because Logan had metal claws in his arms. Emma Frost, a fellow telepath, liked to tease him about anything and everything, from his unnaturally blue eyes to his lack of wings. Her wings were a deep brown colour, with about six white feathers per wing. She would never shut up about her soulmate, Sebastian.

 

On a seemingly normal Monday, Charles had showed up for work in his usual manner, dressed in a manner the students dubbed ‘tiny professor’, his briefcase in hand. He set his briefcase down on the desk he was given, making sure everything was in order. He usually showed up ten minutes before Mrs. Munroe, but she didn’t come in that day. Instead, twenty five minutes later, Charles felt a different mutant walk into the room, assuming it was a substitute teacher. Keeping his nose in his grading, which Ororo had asked him to do for her, ignoring the odd sensation between his shoulderblades and down his back.

 

The substitute, a tall, striking man named Erik Lehnsherr, approached Charles, tapping on his desk to get his attention. Charles looked up, almost getting lost in the man’s grey-green eyes.

 

“Yes?” Charles muttered, placing his pen on the desk.

 

“I assume you are Charles Xavier, the teacher’s aid?” the man asked, voice thick with a heavy German accent.

 

Charles nodded. “You are correct. I take it you are the substitute today?”

 

It was the man’s turn to nod. “Erik Lehnsherr.” he introduced himself. “It seems Mrs. Munroe is out sick today.”

 

“It seems.” Charles nodded. The conversation ending there, Erik walked over to the teacher’s desk. There was a weird, tingling sensation between his shoulderblades, but he shoved it to the back of his mind, flicking his wrist to open his own briefcase to pull out the day’s homeroom lesson plan.

 

Soon, the students were filing in. As always, Steven Rogers was the first one to class. He was a scrawny blonde kid who had moved from Brooklyn to Bayville, and was still trying to fit in. His best friend, according to Steven, was moving to Bayville soon as well, so Charles had hope this friend would be there for Steven.

 

The last student to cross the threshold was Alex Summers. Alex was the school appointed ‘bad boy’, even though he was a freshman. Charles didn’t believe that, because around him, Alex was a model student.

 

Once the bell rang, Erik moved to the front of the classroom, looking stern and orderly.

 

“Hello, class.” he said firmly. “I am Mr. Lehnsherr, your substitute for the class.”

 

A few students murmured between each other, Charles picking up a few stray conversational bits, most notably ‘how is a German going to teach English?’.

 

Erik cleared his throat, gaining everyone’s attention again. He couldn’t help but roll his shoulders. Something between them was bugging him, but he wasn’t in a position to check. “As I was saying, I’ll be filling in for Mrs. Munroe while she’s out sick. Just because I’m a substitute does not mean you can slack off and be disrespectful.”

 

A collective groan went through the room. So he was that kind of sub. The students weren’t pleased.

 

From there, Erik launched into a lecture about Shakespeare, as they were to begin reading ‘Romeo and Juliet’ the next day. He seemed quite passionate on the topic, something Charles couldn’t help but admire. As he listened and graded, his shoulders kept rolling every now and again. Something was seriously bothering him, but he couldn’t check until the end of class. Second period was a different teacher’s class, so Charles had a whole period for marking. He’d check it out then.

 

The class drew to an end, the bell signifying the start of second period. Charles placed everything neatly back into his briefcase and closed it, heading for the staff room to grade and check out his shoulders.

 

Erik did much the same, though it took him less time than Charles, so he was already out the door by the time Charles was done.

 

The two entered the staff room within seconds of each other, placing their briefcases on the table. Logan and Emma both had second period classes, so Charles was safe. For now.

 

Charles stepped out, heading for the staff washroom. Once there, he pulled off his sweater vest, placing it on the counter. He turned so his back faced the mirror, not noticing anything out of the ordinary yet. As a direct result of his annoyance and curiosity, Charles found himself undoing the buttons of his shirt to reveal the bare skin of his shoulders. Well, what he assumed would be bare skin. Instead, between his shoulderblades, was what seemed to be the beginnings of… a set of wings. He was sent for a loop, in such shock he didn’t notice the door opening.

 

Pushing open the door to the staff washroom, Erik stepped in, rolling his shoulders for what felt like the millionth time that day. He didn’t notice Charles and his near-shirtless form for a few seconds, having been looking at the ground. When he finally looked up, he let out a startled noise. There was Mrs. Munroe’s teacher’s ad, half-shirtless, with what looked to be wing nibs that just came in.

 

Frowning, Erik cleared his throat, which startled the other man into pulling his shirt back up onto his shoulders. His pale cheeks turned a brilliant shade of red, his features adopting a horribly embarrassed look.

 

“Oh,  Mr. Lehnsherr.” Charles muttered awkwardly, quickly doing the buttons of his shirt back up. As he did so, he was blindsided by a rather loud thought from the man across from him. He looks nice without a shirt. It caused him to turn even more red, ducking his head.

 

“Please, I believe you have earned the privilege of calling me Erik.” the German managed to get out. He felt a wave of embarrassment roll over him, causing the metal taps on the faucets to turn themselves on. He quickly shut them off again, but he couldn’t deny that it happened.

 

Charles noted the taps with curiosity. He knew the other man was a mutant, but his abilities were a mystery. “Erik…” he murmured, looking away. “I do apologize for that.” he said softly.

 

“Do not apologize. You had no knowledge that someone would walk in.” Erik responded, just as softly. He tried to ignore the stirring in his chest, beating it down with a proverbial stick.

 

Charles rubbed the back of his neck once he finished buttoning his shirt. “Actually, I would’ve had full knowledge of someone approaching if I hadn’t been so distracted.” he mumbled, tapping his temple with two fingers. “Telepath.”

 

Seemingly out of the blue, Erik’s skin dusted with a light shade of red. Charles raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

 

Slipping his sweater vest back on, Charles stepped away from the mirror and headed for the door. Though he really should be getting back to his grading, he hung back, hiding just out of Erik’s view. He too had come to check out what was going on with his shoulders, so he pulled his dark grey polo over his head, turning around. Charles didn’t catch sight of his back, but was enamoured with his front. He had toned muscles and a subtle set of abs. He felt the nibs of his new wings twitch at the thought.

 

Erik looked over his shoulder in the mirror, frowning. There, between his shoulderblades, was exactly what he had seen between Charles’ shoulderblades: the beginnings  of a set of wings.

 

Quickly slipping his shirt back on, Erik turned to head out, hoping to find Charles. Turns out, he didn’t need to go very far, as Charles was standing by the door. He couldn’t find it in himself to be mad at the telepath. After all, he had been awkwardly staring at the other man’s shirtless figure as well.

 

“Charles…” Erik mumbled, staring into those beautiful blue eyes.

 

“Erik…” Charles muttered, staring into Erik’s charming green eyes.

 

Both men just stood there, staring at each other. Did this mean what they thought it meant? It couldn’t be a coincidence that they both began to grow wings the day they met. It couldn’t be. That would mean…

 

“Soulmates.” they both muttered in realization, eyes wide.

 

Charles looked away, biting his overly rosy lip. He’d always wondered who his soulmate was, but he’d never imagined someone like Erik. A seemingly strict, extremely handsome substitute teacher who actually managed to wrangle Tony Stark of all people, who was only 11, the damn genius.

 

Erik lost control of his movements for a moment, brushing some hair away from Charles’ face. They both knew, they knew this wasn’t a platonic bond. Far from it. The stirring in their chests felt like fire, like passion and love.

 

The action caused Charles to look back over to Erik, feeling his quickly growing wings flutter, much like his heart did. His hands, which had been dangling awkwardly at his sides, moved to cup Erik’s cheeks, pulling him in for a soft kiss. Just as their lips met, the bell to signify the end of second period rang.

 

Cursing the bell, the two teachers returned to the staff room for their briefcases before heading back to the classroom.

  
The next class went by in what felt like ten minutes, the students behaving for once. Every once and a while, Erik would catch Charles’ eye, causing the telepath to bite his bottom lip and smile softly before returning to grading essays.


	2. And the Summer Comes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Erik and Charles fall into a rhythm with each other, the family is thrown a wrench: a small boy appears at their home.

The next few weeks, as their wings grew, were spent getting to know each other. Erik had chosen to move in with Charles and his siblings, as he was living with a friend and their… vocal soulmate.

 

As their wings came in, everyone pointed out how… bright and colourful they were. Most wings were made up of one or two feather colours, usually dull ones, but Charles and Erik’s wings, they were something else. Along the tops of the wings was a vivid yellow, like a lemon. The rest of the feathers were various colours, consisting of silver, navy blue, teal, red, and purple. They had only ever heard stories of wings so colourful. Wings with so many colours entailed a very strong, unbreakable bond.

 

It had been difficult navigating everything at first, but they had fallen into a sort of niche. Charles set off for Bayville High at 6:30 in the morning. Depending on whether or not Erik was called in, he either stayed home or left with Charles. When they were together, they were together, both mentally and physically. They would never leave each other’s sides, unless a situation called for it. Charles had even set up a sort of mental link with Erik, just in case either was in trouble. Mostly though, they used it to share very… intimate thoughts. Charles usually aimed to make Erik flustered in front of whatever class he was teaching, and Erik tried to make Charles blush in front of his English students.

 

Summer vacation was fast approaching, and Charles was swamped in grading. He was always given half of the marking by Ororo, her thoughts being ‘teacher’s aid can do grading too’. He had four classes’ worth of essays, projects, short stories, grammar worksheets, and poems to grade before finals. He wasn’t intentionally avoiding Erik, Raven, or Cain, but he was just so busy. Erik had offered to grade some of the work for him, but Charles had assured him he was fine.

 

Raven was worried about her big brother. Whenever finals were on the horizon, he got in over his head and became overly stressed. She tried to pull him away, but it only worked a third of the time. The rest of the time, he refused to be pulled from his grading, unless he was being dragged away for food or sleep.

 

Erik was worried about Charles as well. He had only known his soulmate for a little over two months, but he could tell when he was in over his head. The mental bond seemed to strain and fall apart when he was stressed, which worried him greatly. It seemed his powers weakened with stress, whereas Erik’s got stronger. Erik’s powers weakened when he was tired or overstimulated.

 

Finally, a week and a half before finals, Charles had finished all of his grading. He turned all of it in to Mrs. Munroe and was let off for the rest of the year. He didn’t need to be there for review week, nor for finals. He was finally able to be at home with his family, to play with his nephew, who was growing up so quickly. Kurt had developed a physical mutation like his mother, with blue fur and golden eyes, having also inherited his father’s tail. Azazel and Raven had seemed like an unlikely pair, but they balanced each other out quite well.

 

Cain was docile now, more so than ever before. Over the years, Janos had leveled him out, calming down his ‘Juggernaut’ tendencies. It warmed Charles’ heart to see his siblings so happy, especially with their soulmates.

 

Charles and Erik would do everything together after Charles finished for the year. From dishes to gardening, they were near inseparable. Raven and Janos liked to tease them about it, saying they already acted like an old married couple.

 

Charles would just roll his eyes at them, while Erik would give a dry chuckle. It seemed to scare them off for a while, Raven once saying that it made him sound sinister. Charles just couldn't see it, but he accepted Raven's opinion all the same.

 

June turned into July, and the small family of seven began leaving home more often. Sometimes they would go somewhere together, other times in small groups, or even just pairs. Their favourite destination was the park. Erik and Charles would sit in the grass, just talking, while Raven and Azazel played with little Kurt. Cain and Janos usually stayed home when they went to the park, probably playing video games.

 

Sometimes, all seven of them would go to the beach. Kurt had to be careful in the water, as to not mess up and tangle his fur. During bathing, his fur got all matted and icky, which defeated the whole purpose of a bath. Even so, Kurt loved the water, especially when he and Azazel would flick water at people with their tails.

 

Erik's personal favourite place to be was at home with Charles, curled up together somewhere while one of them read to the other. It was a sweet, calming gesture most of the time, and it was a nice comfort, knowing the other was there.

 

July 4th rolled around and everyone was scrambling to get ready for that night. Kurt and Azazel were going to be staying back, because Kurt was terrified of fireworks, but everyone else was going to the park to watch them.

 

Making sure they had everything they needed, they headed out. Erik was saddled with a picnic basket full of sandwiches and various bottles of drinks. Cain had all five of their chairs on his shoulders, not complaining at all. Raven had a few blankets, while Charles had flags, and Janos got off with carrying nothing.

 

When they got to the park, they set up their chairs and got situated. Wings began to stretch out from being kept tightly to backs for hours on end, and sandwiches were eaten.

 

The fireworks started at exactly 10:00. The first firework was quite large, unsurprisingly red, white, and blue.

 

For the next half an hour, fireworks were shot off, lighting up the night sky.

 

Near the end of the display, Erik had leaned over and kissed Charles' ear, trying to get him to look over. When Charles did, Erik kissed him. It was a long, deep kiss, illuminated by the fireworks above them. Raven had whistles teasingly, and Cain had laughed. Janos expertly did nothing, as he was slightly afraid of Erik. Only slightly.

 

Packing up for home, the blankets were shoved into the basket and given to Raven. The flags were given to Janos, and Charles and Erik walked home hand in hand like two little kids with a crush. Raven thought it was sweet, honestly. They undeniably had a strong bond, and it showed in the way they treated each other. They were always making sure the other was alright, always making sure the other knew they were loved. Azazel and Raven were still like that, but not as much as Erik and Charles were.

 

The next few days were uneventful, things dying down after the Fourth.

 

It was a seemingly normal Tuesday. Charles and Erik were out in the backyard playing chess, while everyone else was inside. Azazel and Raven were taking care of Kurt, who had caught a cold, and Cain and Janos were trying to see who could fit the most olives in their mouth at once.

 

That Tuesday, however, things seemed to change. For worse or for better, nobody knew at the time.

 

A cold wind had torn through the yard, which was uncharacteristic for such a warm day in July. Charles could've sworn he saw a few snowflakes fall from the sky as the wind blew through, but he could've been seeing things.

 

He definitely wasn't seeing things when a small boy, no older than eight or nine, had sought he and Erik out in the backyard. His hair was a dirty blonde colour, his eyes the colour of ice. He seemed lost and scared, like this wasn't a debatable situation.

 

Approaching Charles, he awkwardly sat down. "Are you Mr. Xavier and Mr. Lehnsherr?" the boy asked, voice soft and scared.

 

Charles nodded, adopting a soft expression, as to not scare this child.

 

Erik frowned slightly, but tried not to scare the visibly shaken child. "Yes, we are." he confirmed softly.

 

The boy seemed to relax, if only slightly. "Someone told me to come to you." he said. "My name is Bobby."

 

"Well, Bobby, who sent you?" Erik asked curiously.

 

"And why?" Charles added.

 

"Her... her name was Emma. She... she told me you were both like me, mutants, and... and that you're both teachers." Bobby rambled. "She said you might be able to help me."

 

"Emma... Frost?" Charles wagered, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

 

Bobby nodded. "I think so."

 

Erik frowned even more. "Help with what?" he asked.

 

"I-I can't stop freezing things." Bobby said, traces of fear and disappointment in his voice. "I need help. Mrs. Frost told me that Mr. Xavier was good with mutant stuff."

 

Charles and Erik glanced at each other briefly. Neither were particularly good with children Bobby’s age, but the small boy was terrified.

 

“We can try and help.” Charles said softly, gently resting a hand on Bobby’s shoulder. It jerked back, however, as a freezing sensation washed over his skin.

 

Erik gave a rare look of concern that wasn’t aimed at Charles. This boy, he needed help. But was it their help he needed? Only time would tell, Erik guessed.

Bobby had almost seamlessly wormed his way into their daily routines. He was staying with them, because he had run from an orphanage. His parents had died when he was six, just before he started freezing things.

 

He was a wonderful addition. Kurt took to him quite well, and Raven seemed to like him too. Azazel wouldn’t admit, but the little ice kid warmed his heart. Cain and Janos had yet to notice there was someone else in the house, even if it had been a week. They liked to hide upstairs and play video games for days on end, mostly Destiny and Call of Duty. They did occasionally play fun games, like Mario Kart, but even that turned angry.

 

Sometimes, Bobby would feel insecure or scared around certain people, but somehow never Charles or Erik. Azazel was intimidating to him, Raven had much more control over her powers, and the other two adults never left their room.

  
Life went on, Bobby learning to control his powers as the days went by.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imagine there's two wings there, okay? And pretend I'm not shit at drawing them.


End file.
